st: -xi- in versions 11, 12

Nick Cox wrote:
"Also, -xi:- is not needed in Stata 11, given the introduction of factor variables."
Would that it were completely true. Apart from existing .do and .ado files that may call on it, there are still some dusty corners of current Stata that do not accept factor variables. -oneway- and -loneway- are examples. Also, even regression commands that work nicely with factor variables on their own, fail when used with factor variables under -nestreg-.
Now, admittedly, oneway and loneway are dispensible: other commands that work nicely with factor variables subsume their functionality. But -nestreg- has no factor variable accepting equivalent command that I'm aware of.
Clyde Schechter
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, New York, USA
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